Second homes and holiday homes were involved in more than 250 complaints in relation to breaches of coronavirus lockdown rules, police figures have revealed.

On March 31, Norfolk police introduced a specific code called “breach of public health” which was used in relation to breaches of lockdown rules put in place by the government.

The force received 262 reports which included second and holiday home/house between April 1 and May 19 from people living in Norfolk, according a Freedom of Information Act request by this newspaper.

Officers attended 116 of the reports, but said there may be more than one address which had attracted multiple calls.

A spokesman said that some reports result in letters being sent.

The most complaints came from Hunstanton and the Burnhams, where 84 reports were made across the two months.

Mayor of Hunstanton, Tony Bishop, said the town needs its second homeowners to survive, but they created a problem coming to the town during the lockdown.

“They are more than welcome here,” he said.

“We need the three or four months of business they bring, to survive the rest of the year.

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“The government announced they didn’t want people coming to their second home, and they still cannot.

“There were those people who did come which could have put people’s lives at risk.”

Burnham Market parish council were also contacted about second homes, but they did not want to make a comment.

The nearest to that was Wells, which had 30 reported at the same time, while North Yarmouth, South Yarmouth and Bradwell had three reports of a breach.

%image(14616357, type="article-full", alt="Hunstanton mayor Tony Bishopp said the town needs its second homeowners to survive, but they created a problem coming to the town during the lockdown Picture: Jemma Greef")

Wells councillor Roger Arguile said the council did not receive any complaints about second homeowners.

He believes that people were worried about all people breaking lockdown rules, not just visitors.

He said: “During the lockdown, it was more about people who were disregarding the lockdown rules and second homeowners were in that category.”

Sheringham was the third highest, with 24 reports. A town council spokesman said the issue had not been brought to the attention of the council, and had not been discussed.

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“But that does not mean the people who live here do not have an issue with it,” the spokesman said.

Complaints spiked across Norfolk on April 10, when 24 reports where made. The same day the UK recorded 980 deaths in a day.